The month of May is when we celebrate Mother’s Day but a group of mothers has taken the opportunity to shed light on gun violence. Mothers On A Mission Against Urban Gun Violence has teamed up with BET Networks and The National Action Network to host a month-long campaign during the month of May. The campaign’s purpose is to educate and empower mothers and women to unite against urban gun violence with a special 5-point call to action.

At the launch of the campaign, Cleopatra Pendleton, mother of slain 15-year-old Chicago student Hadiya Pendleton, delivered a passionate call to action.

“The day Hadiya was born my life began and the day she died I thought it was the end of mine, until I realized it was the beginning of my new life – as an activist,” she said. Pendleton pointed out that while Hadiya was the “. . . 42nd child killed at the hands of gun violence in 2013,” there have been countless others after and the numbers continue to rise.

Cleopatra Pendleton. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

M.O.M.’s “5 Point Call to Action” for mothers during the month of May:

1. Find a local anti-violence program in your area and donate time and/or money.

2. Work with other mothers to petition your local community center or church to stay open to provide conflict resolution and anti-violence programming for youth especially during summer months.

3. Contact elected officials and make your voice heard about gun violence.

4. Work with local organizations like National Action Network on programs like “Occupy the Corners.”

5. Mentor youth in your community.

BET and The National Action Network will leverage all of their platforms including on-air programming and social media and grassroots community mobilization to encourage women to speak out against urban gun violence around the country throughout the month.